Liar's Gulch
Liar's Gulch (also known as: Thief's Folly', '''The Mind's Hollow', '''The Graveyard of Lost Truths, and several other far more mundane names) is an enigmatic desert whose location and origin is shrouded in legend and myth. The state of its existence is generally up for debate, as records of its location and stories of its travelers are unreliable, contradictory, and are often muddled in the translation of their retelling. Despite this, there are certain consistencies that continue to appear in the scattered tales. This page is dedicated to (finally) collecting as much of those stories as possible, sorting through the misinformation, and bringing the desert's secrets to light at last. In some stories, the desert has been likened to a kind of "Hell", as a place of severe punishment and atonement for one's sins during life. In other stories, it is reminiscent of a vivid hallucination or lucid dream, where travelers, guided by a voice, can either unlock secrets of the multiverse or be broken forever. And in even other stories, it is a destination for treasure-hunters, who march through the sands among their fallen peers, who have turned to stone. Among the countless folktales, fables, and rumors, one thing becomes very clear: Liar's Gulch is a very dangerous place, but should one endure through its harsh threats, incomparable treasures and rewards are within their reach. A Vagrant's Memories By far the clearest account and the strongest evidence in support of the Gulch's existence is the extracted memories of an unknown vagrant on what appears to be an expedition through an arid desert. According to the records, the subject (named Jane Doe due to lack of identification), had been found in the washroom stall of a western-style tavern on the brink of death: dehydrated, starved, and covered in wounds1. Patrons claim she had suddenly emerged from the previously empty stall, wheezing and pleading for help, at which point she was brought to the extraction facility to examine her memories. The imagery of salvaged vagrant's mind is described below2: — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — [A thick sandstorm envelops most of the vagrant's line of sight, broken only by indiscernible stony shapes jutting from the sand. Cloth protects Jane Doe's eyes, narrowing her field of vision. Ahead, she sees the shapes of several others walking ahead of her, protecting themselves from the beating sand. One of the men calls out in protest, the sounds are muddled, twisted not only by the sharp howl of wind and sand, but by a strange distortion on her memory. Jane Doe feels the burning in her lungs of the dust and sand pelting at her. She grips her cowl tightly against her mouth and nose, coughing. A second voice, further away, returns the man's call. It is a deep and gruff and determined voice. The first man responds, and then a moment later, the deep voice speaks again, angrier. He turns backward to finish his sentence, growling at the first voice. "...not lost, we're getting closer!" He snarls, and through the sandstorm, his face can be seen. Deep scars line a rough, black-bearded face, wrapped snugly in a hood. His cowl falls briefly, revealing his eyes——pitch black and spewing a shadowy fog. He hisses through missing teeth, "I can feel it." The other travelers appear startled at this sight, and stop moving. Voices of protest and concern can be heard, and a fight starts to break out, but Jane Doe has other interests——something else has caught her eye, to the left. In the distance, a lull in the sandstorm reveals a dark figure standing crookedly, watching them, a perfect silhouette obscured by its surroundings. Its pale eyes seem to follow their movements. "...kill the lot of you if I have to! I did not come this far just to..." The gruff man's voice gets Jane Doe's attention again, and she turns back, seeing their scarred leader brandishing a large dagger, holding the travelers at bay. His eyes are still oozing black fog. Jane Doe glances back toward the left once more. The dark figure is gone. ' Another voice proclaims smoothly, the clearest voice among the rowdiness. Jane Doe jerks around in surprise, trying to find the source of the voice. A roar comes from the gruff man as he leaps at one of the travelers. The argument turns to shouting as weapons are drawn. '' The voice says in perfect clarity. Jane Doe's pulse begins to race. '' A heavy rumbling suddenly occurs beneath her. She grasps something close to her chest through the sand-covered jacket she wears, and looks down. The rippling sand beneath them gives way to a flash of a dull red, and suddenly, after several agonizing screams, there is blackness. —— For another moment, Jane Doe's memories return. She is running through the sandstorm, panting wildly. She trips over the uneven land, and falls.] — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — According to other records from the same extraction facility, the few among the many patients who claim to have visited a place like the Liar's Gulch appear afflicted with a strong memory loss, remembering details as if through a drunken haze. Their extracted memory logs show nothing of the sort that Jane Doe experienced, only their conviction and belief that they had such an experience remains, if that. Others appear to be delusional, and more still have lost all sense of sanity3. The Echinopsis Bush One prominent icon that continues to appear throughout the stories is the presence of a solitary plant, the only form of life among the otherwise barren wasteland. Imagery in the Vagrant's Memories above suggests the travelers were searching for some kind of mythical tree, and passing mentions of a "Green Fork" in various folktales further support the importance of this figure. The most damning evidence, however, comes from the research journals of not-so-ancient alchemists, who postulated about various elixirs of truth-telling, longevity, luck, and otherwise. One of the journals, cataloging exotic plants, theorizes about the existence of a type of rare Echinopsis cactus4, a desert-borne "green fork". The alchemist notes that while the needles of this particular cactus contain a slow, deadly venom, the flower that it sprouts is the prize worth pursuing: the Echinopsis flower is said to contain many mystical properties5, including healing, longevity, and even wish-granting in some stories. This is all speculation, of course, but cross-referencing these alchemy journals with the parts of folklore that include wish-granting treasures, along with the barren desert climate, the likely conclusion points to this 'tree' being the Echinopsis cactus. The Sandstone Hand One particular feature that seems to crop up in the stories quite a bit is the appearance of a vast sandstone spire in the shape of a large hand. While not much is said about its origin or function, it is briefly mentioned in one folktale the hand moves around from dune to dune, tunneling up from beneath the sand, collecting the treasures and trinkets of fallen travelers6. Because of the nature of the stories, some people also nickname it the "Red Hand", partially for its color, and partially after the term "caught red-handed", as the spire is rumored to be a carrier of lost or stolen treasures6. One source seems to allude to this hand, or at least a similar statue or motif in the desert, calling it the "Two-thumbed hand", or "Two-Thumbs". This source describes the hand as a usual five-fingered hand, except instead of a pinky, there is a second opposable thumb, giving the hand symmetry8. It is unclear whether this "Two-Thumbs" and the Sandstone Hand share these properties, though since the sources are connected, it's likely they are related. Other Information Despite what little evidence of the Gulch exists, it is clear there is a strong pattern throughout the many stories. Sifting through the notes, I've tried to organize the most common themes, but please feel free to add any information should you, or someone you know, have anything that I missed. ''Edit:' ''Thank you for your contributions, but please provide the source of your information, if available. The stories are all very scattered, and I would love to separate the possible truth from any folklore. In fact, why don't we move this to the discussion page? * Fallen travelers turn into stone. * Shades: distant figures shrouded in black smoke watch travelers, unsure what else they do ** I heard they're the souls of the fallen travelers. ** Souls? Reeeeally? * There is a theme of equivalent exchange when it comes to treasure--you have to give something up in order to receive something. ''needed * Inability to lie while in desert needed * Not going to say much here, but you might want to do a bit of research into an entity with the name "Millennium". * i heard a story that in order to get to the gulch you have to just start walking on a path until you are lost and then keep walking and creepy stuff will start happening but you just have to keep going ** No, sir, you're thinking of the 11 Miles creepypasta. * The cactus flower is not a real thing! There's a monk hiding in the desert, and if you find him, he'll be obligated to share his secrets. needed * Anyone think this has something to do with the tentacle monster that's holding Booth? References text